Movable wing structure for airplanes



D. A. DAY

MOVABLE WING S'I'UCTURE FOR AIRPLANES Filed Feb. 23, 1944 oct. 7, 1947.

Patented Oct. 7, 1,947"

Y DanieljA; Day, Columbl'xsaOhidf Y Application February l23, 1914; seriarN. 5235521*- 4 claims.. (o1. .24a-e9) Thi-sinv'ention relates tol aircraft, arid more particularly7 to aircraft ofa'modified ornithop-4 terclty'pe, involving the emp1oyrri'ent`ofl powerdrive'rLpaItially rotating, wing sections:

It is--an `object of the invention to providean airplane wherein use isY made-of auxiliary rotat ably n-iounted'wingl sections adaptedfor the purpose'fo'fv effecting more ready controlin-the' iiight of an airplane asv comparedv with aircraft utilizing stationary wings, particularly in the matter of providing` for' lower flight-sustainingspeeds;`V

and, generally, enhanced safety.

I-tislan'other object ofthe invention toprovide aniaircraft having auxiliary movable wings disposedv in" longitudinal relationship with the bod'y`- orf fuselagaand wherein theV movable wings are sonioun'ted as to provide for 'turningl movement thereof in ar downwarddi-rectio'n through'- an arc of"approxirna'tely"'180o and a linear returnrnove-y ment in averticaliplane parallel-with' theside`s- .ofthe fuselage;

For a further understanding of the invention, vreferencev is to be had-to theV following' descripationv and'the. accompanying drawing,y wherein:

Fig, lisa` plan View of anair-plane having auxiliary and. movable wingI sections for'n'iediinV :accordance with the present invention;-

l'li'g.`` 2' isV a` transverse vertical sectional view vtaken on the plane indicated by the line II-II tof Fig. 1;

Eig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view.

Referring more particularly to-the drawing, the numeral Il! designates the fuselage of an airplane formed in accordancewith'the present invention; the same being provided v/ith a suitable engine II which drives a nose propeller I2? Fr'on' the fuselage, thereA extends: the usual stationary wings I3, and the rear of thefuselage is pro; vided with' standard rudder and'V elevatori units The distinctive feature of my present invention resides in providing the fuselage at its sides with movable wings I5. The latter are adapted to be driven in any suitable manner from the engine II and, when in active operation, are so mounted that each thereof will turn about a horizontal axis in order that they may be each rotated in a downward direction through an arc of substantially 180 and then .returned to an initial or starting position of rotation through sliding movement in a vertical planey assuming the airplane to be in a normal horizontal position.

While such operations may be carried out with the use of many different types of mechanisms,

th'e accompanying! drawingsillustratei somewhatIrv diagramatic'ally onel forml of apparatus-1 suit'-A bei understood .thai-,1 I1 do-- not; except. as? herein--l f after:- expressly definedg.. consider' my'inven'ton restrictedtcithe `illustratedapparams..

T-hus;.in ythe drawingathe: eng-ine; I I through silit-"abileAV manually;I controlled? speedfl and: mot-ion transmitting mechanismldrivesf aapair! of shafts-4- i'y. whichE conveniently may be rotatably. sup-` ported in' hearings;I Il' provided.: on the-1 fuselage: Each of thefshafts idcarresffor rotation in'unison therewithi a'. semicircularl gearv segment I8;y which;A as :shown fin Eig. 2 omeshesr with' Athe teeth L of` a gear` IQ-xedztoiaicountershaft' 202 theflattter being alsofsupportedfforrotation inf connectionwththefbearings Il; The endsfoftheshaft 2-may be*provided:withl'sprocketsiaround whichpassT enolles'sf chains` Zfi, i the latter being also= trainedovercorresponding sprockets-` provided parallel:- longitudinal Arelationship therewith, and

aref supported for rotationfin connection withl theV bearingsvllprojecting rigidly fromE the fuselage:

Each of the? drums 23Y islongitudinallyslotted as'fat 25for the reception ofoneH ofl the-movable wings-I5.

Gonsiderationfof', this l structure will; disclosethat the rotation of the shaft-ISewill'impartecorresponding rotation to the gear segmentsA IB. These segments are timed to mesh with the-gears i9 of the countershafts 2t when the movable wingsectionsf ltoccupy the dotted line-'position-A-of- Fig. A2 and-to continue such meshingengagement-l until they wing sections. Iii have been rotated through arcs ofsubstantially andrea'chthe second dotted line position indicated. at B; infwhich the movable wing sections depend verbi-M cally from their drums 23.

When the rotating wing sections at each side of the fuselage reach their lowered positions B, the segments I8 disengage from the gears I9, discontinuing momentarily the application of rotating power to the drums 23. At this time, the segments I8 are brought into meshing engagement with gears 26 which are secured to rock shafts 2l, journaled in the bearings I1 below the drive shaft I6. Each of these rock shafts carries a gear 28 which meshes with a complemental gear 29 provided on an adjacent parallel rock shaft 30. Each of the rock shafts 30 carries a pair of lifter arms 3|, which project through slots provided in the fuselage. This is true when the rock shafts are disposed within the interior of the fuselage although it is Within` the scope of the invention to mount these shafts exteriorly of the fuselage,`if desired. The outer ends of the lifter arms are normally disposed ment with the gears 26 ofthe rock shafts 21, thu-srotating said rock shafts to cause the arms 28 to move upwardly until they assume the dotted line positions indicated in Fig. 2, thereby raising the movable wing sections I and causing the same to slide linearly in vertical` planes through the slots 25 of the rocker drums 23. If desired, the

lifter arms may be connected with coil springs 32, so that when said arms have been elevated and the gear segments I8 removed from driving engagement with the gears 26, the springs will function to effect a quick return of the lifter l armsSI to their lowered positions, in order that they will be in registration with the outer edges of the movable wing sections when the latter reach their extreme downward positions of rotation.

The present invention thus provides a modified ornithopter type of airplane inlwhich the auxiliary movable wings are employed to provide for relatively slow take-off, flying and landing speeds, thus increasing the safety and usefulness of airplanes generally. When maximum flight speeds are desired, the movable wing sections may be `retained in positions feathered with or in the slip stream ofthe stationary wings in order to diminish frontal resistance. The opposite longitudinal edges of the movable Wings I2 may be provided with enlargements 33, which engage with spring-pressed or resilient gripping devices 34 carried by the drums 23, such gripping def'vices serving to positively retain one side or the other of each of the movable Wing sections in engagement with the rocker drums. Also, shock absorbing devices 35 may be used between the fuselage and the movable wing sections to arrest swinging movement of the latter in a downward and inward direction after driving engagement with the gear segments I8 has been momentarily discontinued.

I claim:

1. In an airplane, a body, an engine driven shaft supported by said body, a drum mounted exteriorly of said body for rotation about a horizontal axis, said drum being formed with a longitudinally extending slot projecting therethrough from one side to the other, a wing member slidably positioned in said slot and rotatable with the drum,'means driven by said shaft for imparting intermittent rotation to said drum whereby to rotate said wing member outwardly and downwardly with respect to said body, and means operative during such period kof nonrotation on the part of said drum to slide said wing member through said slot and restore the same to an initial position for rotation.

2. In an airplane, a body, an engine-driven shaft rotatablyl supported byV said body, a wing member, supporting means for said wing member turnable about a horizontal axis and in which supporting means said wing member is slidably mountedmeans driven by said shaft for intermittently rotating said supporting means, whereby to cause said wing member to rotate through a limited arc of movement, and means operative during periods of non-rotation of said supporting means to slide said wing member relative thereto, whereby to restore said wing member to an initial' position for rotationV before rotation of said supporting means is resumed.

3. In an airplane, a body, an engine-driven shaft rotatably supported by said body, a wing member, supporting means for said wing member carried by said body, said means being turnable about a horizontal axis and being provided with guides in which said` wing member is slidably received, means driven by said shaft for intermittently imparting periodic rotation to ksaid supporting means and said wing member, and means actuated by said shaft operative during periods of non-rotation kof said supporting means to slide said wingmember in said guides.

4. In an airplane, a body, an engine-driven shaft rotatably supported by said body, a Wing member, supporting means for said wing member carried by said body, said means being turnable about a horizontal axis and being additionally formed with guides for slidably receiving said wing member, means driven by said shaft for imparting intermittent rotation to said supporting means and said wing, a rock shaft, lifter.

arms carried by saidrock shaft, and means actuated by saidengine-driven shaft for oscil-v lating said rock shaft and lifter arms, whereby to effect sliding elevation of said wingmember during intervals of non-rotation of said support-v DANIEL A. DAY. .Y

ing means.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patenti Y UNITED STATES PATENTS 

